Eco Child’s Play

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Celebrating the Winter Solstice was one of my first posts here at Eco Child’s Play!  I’m a summer lover and today I’m practically giddy that there will 15 HOURS of daylight! What a wonderful day to remind our kids that the sun is, ultimately, the energetic source of all we have.

Making small (or large, if that’s your cup ‘o herbal tea!) celebrations out of the Solstices and Equinoxes is one more way to teach your children that there is a rhythm to nature and a rhythm to life. If Winter Solstice is comparable to a “time to weep,” Summer Solstice is the “time to laugh!” (Thank you, Ecclesiastes for the most beautiful words on the seasonality of life…and thank you to the Byrds for putting it to music!)

Celebrate the longest day of the year with seasonal food and fun. Read the rest of this entry »

I live mini pumpernickel bread, but I have had a hard time finding it without preservatives. I have tried making it, but it never turns out the same. During a recent trip to San Francisco, I was excited to find natural pumpernickel cocktail loaves at Whole Foods, although they were not organic. I bought a couple of loaves, and we made vegan cucumber and pumpernickel hors d’oeuvres for my daughter’s last day of school celebration. This recipe is so easy that I am not even sure it qualifies as a recipe since there is no cooking involved. My daughter was able to help me make them, and they quickly disappeared at the school party.

Super Easy Vegan Cucumber and Pumpernickel Bread Hors d’Oeuvres

Ingredients:

• Cocktail pumpernickel bread

• Vegan light canola mayo

• Sliced organic cucumber (leave the skins on!)

• Fresh basil and/or dill (optional)

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Antibiotic free, cage free, biodynamic, grass fed, pastured, fertilized, free range, free roaming, free roaming, free running, irradiated, natural, no hormones, no chemicals administered, pasteurized, vegetarian fed, high-Omega 3, whole grain fed. All of these labels have been used just to market eggs.

In fact, eggs are the product with the most “eco labels” of all reviewed by Consumer Reports. How do you navigate the sea of label terms and find out what they really mean?

Consumer Reports offers an Eco-labels Center that has tools like a virtual kitchen that shows users common foods and the labels associated with them, some of which were new to me. Did you know wine can include a “salmon-safe” label, for example?

The site also offers three different ways to search for label definitions; by “label” including label term, logo, label index and label category; by product category including food, household cleaners, personal hygiene, and wood/paper; and by certifiers, the organization or program that validates the label claim.

After finding myself seeking out organic musical instruments for my child, I had one of those open-palm-to-the-forehead-moments and realized the old stand-by of spoons on pots, dry beans in Tupperware and whisks around a metal bowl were classics for a reason. Simple. Easy. And I don’t have to buy anything.

BUT, for the really adventurous out there - I did find this wonderfully endearing YouTube clip of a man (the language barrier won’t matter) delighting in showing the world how he fashions apples, carrots and even asparagus into musical instruments. It is music so good you can eat it! (Sorry … couldn’t resist).

It is a little weird - but what a fantastic way to take the fear out of vegetables. I don’t know that I can pull off this trick with my paring knife, but I might give it a try. If nothing else, this will provide at least 10 minutes worth of hysterical laughter from my son. 

Enjoy the clip after the jump. 

Read the rest of this entry »

Today’s Washington Post shared a story about the Center for Science in the Public Interest calling on the FDA to ban artificial food coloring because of a link to behavior problems and hyperactivity in children.

Anyone who has seen children after consuming cookies piled high with brightly colored frosting knows what kind of wrath they can cause.

But in all seriousness, the group did cite studies that have been done over decades that reveal this link. They are asking that the FDA label foods that contain these additives while they consider the ban.

The FDA strongly disagrees with the Center’s argument that these additives are bad for children, even after reviewing the studies. They also cited the fact that the European Union (which is light years ahead of the U.S. in the area of environmental health), has declared artificial food colorings safe. Read the rest of this entry »

For my daughter’s first birthday (and first taste of sweetness), we decided a carrot cake would be the healthiest choice. This weekend for an impromptu Memorial Day potluck, we revisited our carrot cake recipe, and this time my daughter got to help make it! Our organic carrot cake was the hit of the party, and it is a great way to use up those funky looking carrots from the garden.

Organic Carrot Cake

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Use butter or oil to grease and flour the bottom of a 13″ x 9″ x 2″ glass pan. Beat with an electric mixer for one minute:

• 1 1/2 cups organic sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs (or egg replacer)

Add and beat for another minute:

• 2 cups organic flour (can use a mixture of whole wheat and unbleached white)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

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Okay, I am starting to feel like a personal gas station for my daughter. Breastfeeding has its rewards but it can also be all consuming. One of the reasons I might have hesitated about breastfeeding was the fear that my baby would be attached to me 24/7. As a person who enjoys her freedom; this was a big issue for me. However health benefits of breastfeeding won out. (by a margin, homerun.) As a compromise, I use a breastpump to express some milk for times you just need to get away. Then the co-parent, otherwise known as the guy with no boobs but hairy chest, gets to take over. Extra perk, bonding time with daddy. Read the rest of this entry »

The bad news about toxic children’s products never ceases. Recently, I learned that food packaging, such as used for candy and pizza, contains toxic perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs), specifically perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluoroctanoic acid (PFOA). As a general rule of thumb, if I can’t pronounce, I don’t want my kids exposed to it! Thankfully, neither does the California legislature.

What are PFCs?

PFCs are man made chemicals used for decades to make products that resist heat, oil, stains, grease and water. They are commonly used in nonstick cookware, stain-resistant carpets and fabrics, and food packaging. PFCs are found in packaging for fast-food sandwiches, french fries, pizza, baked goods, beverages, and candy to prevent staining and grease spots. There is evidence that these dangerous chemicals migrate to food from the packaging, especially when heated. According to the Environmental Working Group, PFCs are found in over 98% of American’s blood! Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve had my child cooking with me since she was two, and even before then she was hanging out in a backpack watching over my shoulder as I prepared meals. The Kiddo even asks to watch me cook, pushing over a dining chair to stand on herself. At the tender age of three, she even does some of the cooking. Surprisingly, there are many kitchen tasks that a child this young can help with.

If you are in need of advice on when and how to get your kid cooking, this book, Salad People and More Real Recipes, may be a perfect fit. The author has also written Moosewood Cookbook, a top vegetarian title. Read the rest of this entry »

One of my closest friends (and fellow mom) is not exactly “green”. She tends to skew towards the tested and reliable brands and not towards the “fad” of baby organic products.

I recently persuaded her to try a few organic products and, low and behold, she has been very pleased with the results. So … here are a few tips to getting your parents, friends, mother-in-laws and other skeptics to slowly embrace healthy alternatives. Read the rest of this entry »